Falling in Love...with Me.

Deuteronomy 10:14-15
To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.

Reading through the Old Testament can be quite a task.  I started this project last January...and I am slowly making my way through the first 5 books.  For a non-history buff...this can be a daunting task, treading through seemingly foreign territory at times.  I find myself needing to take breaks and immerse myself into the New Testament in order to just come up for a breath of fresh and familiar air.

All this merely represents my lack of discipline and immaturity when it comes to God's word. 

But, with all this said, every few paragraphs I undoubtedly find myself awestruck by the words on the page.  Every few paragraphs I am struck by the fact that the same familiar God of the New Testament is right there within the pages of the Old Testament- reaching out His arms of love amongst all the hatred of the world.  Last night's reading brought me to this point. 

In the middle of Deuteronomy, I found this beautiful verse.  A verse that reveals the tender heart of a loving God.  A verse that reveals the deep emotions of a Sovereign Being, emotions that we tend to look over. 

I found it breath-taking to hear Almighty God say that out of all the beauty surrounding Him, out of all the majestic and perfect things in this world and in creation- He has chosen to "set His affections" on us.  He chose to pour His love on me. 

Sometimes I think of Christianity (when referring to God's love) as a free-for-all.  I find myself having a "come-and-get-it" mentality regarding God's love- anyone who wants it can just stand in line and get it.  As true as this is, in a way- it takes something away from God's deep love.

More than a free for all- God's love is powerfully deliberate.  He could have had anything or anyone He wanted...yet he chose us.  And by us, I don't mean a collective us.  Within that us there are billions of individuals....each one hand-picked by God.  Each one known, discovered, and loved fully.  Each one found beautiful enough for an Almighty God to drop everything else and choose to invest His emotions in that one. 

Being married has helped me appreciate this truth all the more.  I find myself overjoyed when I consider that the man I am married to, chose me out of all the women in the world.  For some reason, he decided to set his affections on me and invest in me.  For some reason, he saw that I was worthy of his love and decided to pour it out without reservation.  Even though he knows me...the good, the bad, and the ugly...he chose to love me, and chooses to love me each and every single day. 

God knows you.  He knows your life.  Your story.  Your struggle.  He knows your journey.  He knows the details of your heart and your mind.  He knows your mistakes, your sins, and your intentions.  Yet despite of yourself...He finds you worthy enough to fall in love with, again, and again, and again.  He finds you worth the investment of His love- and even more so, the investment of His very life.